Sai On Cheung, Peter S.P. Wong, Ada Y.S. Fung and W.V. Coffey
The purpose of this paper is to examine the use of bid information, including both price and non‐price factors in predicting the bidder's performance.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the use of bid information, including both price and non‐price factors in predicting the bidder's performance.
Design/methodology/approach
The practice of the industry was first reviewed. Data on bid evaluation and performance records of the successful bids were then obtained from the Hong Kong Housing Department, the largest housing provider in Hong Kong. This was followed by the development of a radial basis function (RBF) neural network based performance prediction model.
Findings
It is found that public clients are more conscientious and include non‐price factors in their bid evaluation equations. With the input variables used the information is available at the time of the bid and the output variable is the project performance score recorded during work in progress achieved by the successful bidder. It was found that past project performance score is the most sensitive input variable in predicting future performance.
Research limitations/implications
The paper shows the inadequacy of using price alone for bid award criterion. The need for a systemic performance evaluation is also highlighted, as this information is highly instrumental for subsequent bid evaluations. The caveat for this study is that the prediction model was developed based on data obtained from one single source.
Originality/value
The value of the paper is in the use of an RBF neural network as the prediction tool because it can model non‐linear function. This capability avoids tedious “trial and error” in deciding the number of hidden layers to be used in the network model.
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The concept and practice of e-services has become essential in business transactions. Yet there are still many organizations that have not developed e-services optimally. This is…
Abstract
The concept and practice of e-services has become essential in business transactions. Yet there are still many organizations that have not developed e-services optimally. This is especially relevant in the context of Indonesian Airline companies. Therefore, many airline customers in Indonesia are still in doubt about it, or even do not use it. To fill this gap, this study attempts to develop a model for e-services adoption and empirically examines the factors influencing the airlines customers in Indonesia in using e-services offered by the Indonesian airline companies. Taking six Indonesian airline companies as a case example, the study investigated the antecedents of e-services usage of Indonesian airlines. This study further examined the impacts of motivation on customers in using e-services in the Indonesian context. Another important aim of this study was to investigate how ages, experiences and geographical areas moderate effects of e-services usage.
The study adopts a positivist research paradigm with a two-phase sequential mixed method design involving qualitative and quantitative approaches. An initial research model was first developed based on an extensive literature review, by combining acceptance and use of information technology theories, expectancy theory and the inter-organizational system motivation models. A qualitative field study via semi-structured interviews was then conducted to explore the present state among 15 respondents. The results of the interviews were analysed using content analysis yielding the final model of e-services usage. Eighteen antecedent factors hypotheses and three moderating factors hypotheses and 52-item questionnaire were developed. A focus group discussion of five respondents and a pilot study of 59 respondents resulted in final version of the questionnaire.
In the second phase, the main survey was conducted nationally to collect the research data among Indonesian airline customers who had already used Indonesian airline e-services. A total of 819 valid questionnaires were obtained. The data was then analysed using a partial least square (PLS) based structural equation modelling (SEM) technique to produce the contributions of links in the e-services model (22% of all the variances in e-services usage, 37.8% in intention to use, 46.6% in motivation, 39.2% in outcome expectancy, and 37.7% in effort expectancy). Meanwhile, path coefficients and t-values demonstrated various different influences of antecedent factors towards e-services usage. Additionally, a multi-group analysis based on PLS is employed with mixed results. In the final findings, 14 hypotheses were supported and 7 hypotheses were not supported.
The major findings of this study have confirmed that motivation has the strongest contribution in e-services usage. In addition, motivation affects e-services usage both directly and indirectly through intention-to-use. This study provides contributions to the existing knowledge of e-services models, and practical applications of IT usage. Most importantly, an understanding of antecedents of e-services adoption will provide guidelines for stakeholders in developing better e-services and strategies in order to promote and encourage more customers to use e-services. Finally, the accomplishment of this study can be expanded through possible adaptations in other industries and other geographical contexts.
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Marc Wouters, Susana Morales, Sven Grollmuss and Michael Scheer
The paper provides an overview of research published in the innovation and operations management (IOM) literature on 15 methods for cost management in new product development, and…
Abstract
Purpose
The paper provides an overview of research published in the innovation and operations management (IOM) literature on 15 methods for cost management in new product development, and it provides a comparison to an earlier review of the management accounting (MA) literature (Wouters & Morales, 2014).
Methodology/approach
This structured literature search covers papers published in 23 journals in IOM in the period 1990–2014.
Findings
The search yielded a sample of 208 unique papers with 275 results (one paper could refer to multiple cost management methods). The top 3 methods are modular design, component commonality, and product platforms, with 115 results (42%) together. In the MA literature, these three methods accounted for 29%, but target costing was the most researched cost management method by far (26%). Simulation is the most frequently used research method in the IOM literature, whereas this was averagely used in the MA literature; qualitative studies were the most frequently used research method in the MA literature, whereas this was averagely used in the IOM literature. We found a lot of papers presenting practical approaches or decision models as a further development of a particular cost management method, which is a clear difference from the MA literature.
Research limitations/implications
This review focused on the same cost management methods, and future research could also consider other cost management methods which are likely to be more important in the IOM literature compared to the MA literature. Future research could also investigate innovative cost management practices in more detail through longitudinal case studies.
Originality/value
This review of research on methods for cost management published outside the MA literature provides an overview for MA researchers. It highlights key differences between both literatures in their research of the same cost management methods.
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This chapter explains the impact containerisation has on the various partners of the global supply chain and the challenges companies encounter and the solutions they use in…
Abstract
This chapter explains the impact containerisation has on the various partners of the global supply chain and the challenges companies encounter and the solutions they use in dealing with empty container repositioning.
The phenomenon of imbalanced container flows and its impact on shipping lines, shippers, container haulage companies, port development and the economy are presented. Special attention is given to explain the many solutions companies use to reduce the impact of empty container repositioning, hence tracing out the past research that led to these solutions and pointing to potentially new research directions in the future.
Because of the widespread use of containerisation and the imbalanced container flows that results from globalisation, empty container repositioning will be an ongoing issue for the maritime logistics industry. Many solutions are being used, but there is room for improvement and more research is needed.
Empty container repositioning is an important issue but has not been deemed as such in the literature. This chapter explains the reasons it is important and that its impact is not limited to shipping lines only but affects the whole supply chain.
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Lisa M. Stewart, Claudia Sellmaier, Marin Henderson-Posther, Jessica Lukefahr and Eileen M. Brennan
Understanding the role of mental health stigma in the workplace and its effect on employment for parents of children with mental health disabilities is limited. Using a conceptual…
Abstract
Understanding the role of mental health stigma in the workplace and its effect on employment for parents of children with mental health disabilities is limited. Using a conceptual approach to stigma that incorporates four interrelated stigma types, a scoping review of the literature was conducted to locate research on mental health stigma within the workplace directed at parents of children with mental health disabilities. Twenty-six research articles and 12 websites met the study inclusion criteria. Findings confirm parents of children with mental health disabilities experience public, self, courtesy, and structural stigma in the workplace, which affects their workforce participation. Articles in the review report limited strategies available to parents to combat stigma and discrimination due to public mental health stigma. Gaps in the literature and opportunities for parents, parent support organizations, workplaces, and policy-makers are discussed.
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Praveen Kumar Gopagoni and Mohan Rao S K
Association rule mining generates the patterns and correlations from the database, which requires large scanning time, and the cost of computation associated with the generation…
Abstract
Purpose
Association rule mining generates the patterns and correlations from the database, which requires large scanning time, and the cost of computation associated with the generation of the rules is quite high. On the other hand, the candidate rules generated using the traditional association rules mining face a huge challenge in terms of time and space, and the process is lengthy. In order to tackle the issues of the existing methods and to render the privacy rules, the paper proposes the grid-based privacy association rule mining.
Design/methodology/approach
The primary intention of the research is to design and develop a distributed elephant herding optimization (EHO) for grid-based privacy association rule mining from the database. The proposed method of rule generation is processed as two steps: in the first step, the rules are generated using apriori algorithm, which is the effective association rule mining algorithm. In general, the extraction of the association rules from the input database is based on confidence and support that is replaced with new terms, such as probability-based confidence and holo-entropy. Thus, in the proposed model, the extraction of the association rules is based on probability-based confidence and holo-entropy. In the second step, the generated rules are given to the grid-based privacy rule mining, which produces privacy-dependent rules based on a novel optimization algorithm and grid-based fitness. The novel optimization algorithm is developed by integrating the distributed concept in EHO algorithm.
Findings
The experimentation of the method using the databases taken from the Frequent Itemset Mining Dataset Repository to prove the effectiveness of the distributed grid-based privacy association rule mining includes the retail, chess, T10I4D100K and T40I10D100K databases. The proposed method outperformed the existing methods through offering a higher degree of privacy and utility, and moreover, it is noted that the distributed nature of the association rule mining facilitates the parallel processing and generates the privacy rules without much computational burden. The rate of hiding capacity, the rate of information preservation and rate of the false rules generated for the proposed method are found to be 0.4468, 0.4488 and 0.0654, respectively, which is better compared with the existing rule mining methods.
Originality/value
Data mining is performed in a distributed manner through the grids that subdivide the input data, and the rules are framed using the apriori-based association mining, which is the modification of the standard apriori with the holo-entropy and probability-based confidence replacing the support and confidence in the standard apriori algorithm. The mined rules do not assure the privacy, and hence, the grid-based privacy rules are employed that utilize the adaptive elephant herding optimization (AEHO) for generating the privacy rules. The AEHO inherits the adaptive nature in the standard EHO, which renders the global optimal solution.
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Colin C. H. Law, Yahua Zhang and Anming Zhang
This chapter reviews the history of regulation and deregulation in international air transport and discusses the positive impacts of deregulation and open skies on the tourism…
Abstract
This chapter reviews the history of regulation and deregulation in international air transport and discusses the positive impacts of deregulation and open skies on the tourism sector in the Asia Pacific region. The Hong Kong–Bangkok market was examined, which shows that the granting of the fifth freedom rights has given the two places sufficient air service provisions to build tourism. Future reforms in air transport such as relaxing ownership restrictions and expanding air freedoms rights are explored.
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Diet therapy or nutritional therapy has become a real challenge in the fight against the increasing number of modern illnesses such as obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases…
Abstract
Diet therapy or nutritional therapy has become a real challenge in the fight against the increasing number of modern illnesses such as obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases and cancers. The scientific community has recognized the importance of studies that will support or rebut the association of certain nutrition/energy inputs with the prevention and/or improvement of certain diseases. Patient counseling is offered by medical doctors, nutritionists and dieticians, but patients often seek additional sources of information from popular media that may not be adequately scientifically supported. Whose responsibility is it when the Diet Therapy is not an effective treatment and where does the consequent ethical and moral responsibility lie?
This chapter argues for the importance of a nutritionally educated scientist evaluating the diets that are seen to be related with the health improvement also excluding diets that are mostly related to the patients’ well-being as the Mediterranean, DASH (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension), Ketogenic and Vegetarian diet. Diet guidelines are often explained with linguistic variables (as “reduce the input of” etc.) which can be differently perceived by the end user. The interpretation if a linguistic variable is presented using the body mass index categories using a bell-shaped curve. The preferable area fits to the linguistic variable “acceptable BMI.” But also are indicated those areas which are less preferable. Those examples of information interpretations show the necessity of knowledge transfer. The quantity of information presented in diet guidelines can be experienced as a great muddle for patients; leaving them not knowing where and how to start. So, remains the ethical and moral responsibility of all links in the chain of nutritional and diet research and recommendations. Only objective and open-minded recommendations based on the latest scientific facts can gain confidence of the social, economical, and political subjects which must put the well-being of the population uppermost in their mind.
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Ada Hiu Kan Wong, Joyce Oiwun Cheung and Ziguang Chen
Working-from-home (WFH) practice has been adopted by many companies of a variety of industries in a diverse manner; however, it is not until the recent outbreak of the coronavirus…
Abstract
Purpose
Working-from-home (WFH) practice has been adopted by many companies of a variety of industries in a diverse manner; however, it is not until the recent outbreak of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic WFH gains worldwide popularity. With so many different views out there and based on work–family balance theory, this study aims to find out the factors which affect peoples' WFH effectiveness and whether they want the extended WFH practice when the pandemic crisis is over.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper adopted an online survey approach by posting questionnaires on the university website and different social media channels to collect views from full-time Hong Kong workers who have had WFH experience during the coronavirus outbreak. A total of 1,976 effective responses were collected for the data analysis.
Findings
The findings of this study indicate that WFH effectiveness is improved by personal and family well-being but reduced by environmental and resource constraints. When workers are experiencing higher WFH effectiveness, they have a higher preference for WFH even after the pandemic; the female workers preferred WFH twice per week, while the male workers more often preferred WFH once per week. Finally, workers from the management and the self-employed levels demonstrated a lower preference for WFH, compared to the front-line and middle-grade workers.
Originality/value
This paper fulfils to provide a timely reflection on workers' post-pandemic WFH preference, the factors affecting their WFH effectiveness and the demographic differences inducing to the differentiated preferences.